Inflation Is the Top Issue for a Record Share of U.S. Small Businesses
- Proportion raising prices jumps to all-time high in NFIB data
- Optimism index dropped in February to 95.7, a 13-month low
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Inflation is the single-most important problem plaguing U.S. small businesses, dragging down a gauge of sentiment among owners to the lowest in more than a year.
Twenty-six percent said inflation was the top issue encountered in operating their business in February, the most in monthly data back to 1986, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday. The group’s optimism index fell to 95.7, the lowest since January 2021 and below the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.